No matter what your betting pleasure is, there is sure to be a free bet covering that market. Be it, football, horse racing, or Formula One, punters can now receive free bets to be used in all events as their welcome or loyalty bonus. However, all free bets are not created equal. Some offer far more monetary value than others. For a punter to choose wisely, these are factors to consider.
Size and Type of Free Bet Bonus
Obviously, potential customers will be enticed by the promise of a large free bet bonus but sometimes these have more requirements attached to them.
Take the size of the free bet into consideration but also look at the type of free bet bonus.
Is the free bet a risk-free bet? Will it be added to your account after first deposit or first bet? Or, will you have to place five or more bets of the same amount before qualifying to receive a free bet?
Also, make sure to take note of whether the promotion is market specific. In other words, the free bet bonus may only apply to those new customers who place a specific stake on any football market or a specific match.
Turnovers
Most free bets have turn over stipulations, which specifies how many additional bets need to be placed by the punter before the winnings from the free bet can be extracted. For instance, a free bet may have a value of £200. If it is to be turned over four times, then the punter will need to bet £800 of his funds before he can claim the winnings from the free bet.
It is important to remember the higher the turnovers required, the harder it is to collect your winnings from the free bet.
Geographical location
Often enough, free bets may be restricted to punters who come from a specific location like the UK and Ireland, certain parts of Europe, or the US. You should check that your location is not barred from using a free bet before committing your funds.
Wagering Requirements
As already mentioned, most free bet bonuses will have several wagering requirements attached. These are usually in the form of minimum turnover on the free bet amount.
For example, a customer may receive a £10 free bet after placing their first bet from a new account. This may be subject to a minimum turnover of 5x the free bet bonus amount, which means any winnings from the initial free bet will be held in a bonus balance until the customer has staked another £50.
Once the turnover requirements have been met, these bonus funds are then converted to real withdrawable cash.
Expiration Period
Most free bet offers will include an expiration period. This usually means that new customers must place their qualifying bet within a set amount of time after signing up for a new account, and then they will have another set amount of time to use the free bet(s) which they qualify for.
For example, a customer may be given a time limit of 48 hours after signing up for a new account to bet the qualifying amount required for the free bet bonus to be applicable. Once they have qualified for the bonus, the free bet(s) will be added to their account and they can use them as they wish.
But, usually, these free bets will expire around seven days after being added to an account. If they haven’t been used by the expiration date given, the customer will no longer be able to use the free bet.
For this reason, it’s always best to fully read through the terms and conditions before signing up for a free bet offer, note down any expiration period given, and use the free bets as soon as possible after they are added to your account,
Otherwise, you may find yourself missing out on the bonus that enticed you to a site in the first place.
Minimum Odds
This requirement is important as not sticking to it may prevent you from qualifying for a free bet bonus. Basically, most online bookmakers will include minimum odds to any qualifying bets or bets using the free bet stake.
For example, a free bet bonus may require customers to place a qualifying bet of at least £10 on a bet which has odds of at least 1/1 (2.00). Any bets with odds shorter than this will not qualify for the bonus.
Also, the same minimum odds will usually apply to any free bets the customer has qualified for and possibly any bets within the bonus period, which will be before the customer has fulfilled any wagering requirements attached to the free bet promotion.
Customers should always read the terms and conditions, including the small print, to find out any information regarding minimum odds requirements. Placing a bet on shorter odds than required will mean not qualifying for the bonus and will mean missing out on it altogether if the promotion only applied to the first bet using a new account.